Floods kill seven in northern Tanzania

Seven people were killed and several others injured following heavy downpour that had hit northern Tanzania's Kilimanjaro Region over the weekend.

Authorities in the region said Monday that hundreds of people in the region are also being trapped in their homes due to floods.

Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadick said most parts of the region have no communication as roads are flooded with water.

He said Rombo and Moshi Rural are the highly affected districts in the region.

"We're forced to ask for two helicopters from Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) and Tanzania Police force so that it can be easier to rescue hundreds of people who have been trapped into their homes due to floods," the official told Xinhua in telephone interview.

"We tried to send a rescue team into the area, but some are impassable. I talked Tanapa and they have accepted to send a chopper on Tuesday morning," he said, adding that a chopper from police had arrived on Monday evening.

Sadick said he had also ordered local government leaders in the affected areas to carry out assessment on the impact of the disaster and the number of people who are in need of humanitarian aids.

Few days ago, the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) warned of heavy rains countrywide at the end of this month due to effects of the ongoing Cyclone Fantala in the Indian Ocean.

Director General of TMA Agnes Kijazi said that the ongoing rains have partly been caused by the cyclone. "The agency will continue to issue daily reports and measures to be taken to avoid negative impacts to people and property," added Kijazi.

Source: XINHUA